1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to performance of commerce transactions via the Internet, and more particularly, it relates to a technique for aggregating transactional scope across multiple independent Web requests.
2. Description of Prior Art
Electronic commerce is increasing exponentially, especially on the World Wide Web. Many businesses have set up virtual stores on Web sites that allow consumers to shop and purchase products on-line. Most commerce transactions on the World Wide Web utilize the HTTP protocol. HTTP protocol is designed as a state-less or session-less protocol with many benefits, such as rapid connections to web servers and jumping from one server to another as the subsequent hyperlinks in Web documents are referenced.
When clients/customers visit web sites, more frequently they may attempt multiple transactions which they may consider as the same event. For example, a prospective vacationer may visit a web site to purchase airlines tickets and to secure hotel accommodations. In the traditional transaction processing world it would be possible to ensure that either both transactions occur successfully or, that if either transaction fail, neither transaction occurs.
However, the state-less nature of the HTTP protocol creates a situation where independent requests must be sequentially executed, creating a situation where a failure of one transaction may leave the other transaction successfully completed. Furthermore, the design of a complete application to allow clients/customers to roll back previous transactions, e.g., cancel the airline reservation if there are no hotel accommodations available, is difficult and in many cases not possible.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method to coordinate multiple, independent Web transaction requests into a single transaction request initiated from any Web browser, in other words, aggregating transaction scope across multiple independent Web requests.